Dropped some wheels off for refinishing at The Wheel Specialist in Manchester last weekend and picked them up first thing this morning.
Here are the OZ Superleggeras – I like them a lot! These wheels were one of the first upgrades I bought for the 16v car and they have hardly ever been used. The tyres are brand new:
The refurb company I chose are not cheap, but having gone for cheap in the past and been really disappointed I decided sometime ago this is an area worth investing in. The quality is really top notch and it is a good depth of paint. It would be cheaper to buy new ones from 106parts for one set, but as a returning customer and getting two sets done at the same time I did get a good deal In my experience the quality of paint on these wheels from factory isn’t the greatest and getting them delivered without some paint damage in transit does seem to be a common problem.
The refurbed Michelin steelies:
In other news the steering rack for the 16v is degreased and will be in paint this weekend. The leaky old aerial is now off the 8v:
New aerial mount ready to be fitted with the steelies and a few other parts this weekend.
Rallye Project 
Wheels look great, what process did they use? I had some repainted here in Calgary for the Landrover and the job on the surface looked great (and still does) but he paint is sooo soft even 2 years down the line. Mine were sprayed and very low temp oven to cure.
Now you just have to keep them looking that clean.
Chris
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Chris in Canada? Good to hear from you mate! Whoa, Canada is a change, you were in Norway last time I heard from you. Are you doing geology stuff related to the oil industry somewhere in Alberta then? I applied for a job out there a couple of months back…didn’t get it.
In terms of the wheels, the process is media blast back to the bare metal, any repairs necessary and then etch primer before being powder coated. Within 2 hours of the wheel coming out of the oven they are as hard as they will get. The finish is not like a body work paint that takes 2-3 weeks to fully harden. I will probably use some wheel wax to help reduce the brake dust build up a bit.
So what Landie are you rocking about in? Still biking?
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Moved over here nearly 3 years ago now after 4 years in Norway. Still working for Statoil, but working exploration off the East Coast of Canada (based in Calgary).
Regarding the wheels I ‘read’ (i know i shouldnt beleive everything i read) that the heat involved in powder coating is bad for alloys? the place i took mine to is the place that all of the main dealers get wheels re-finished at so I hoped they knew what they were going. Like I said the paint looks great but its soft as I think it was a more traditional spray low level oven bake job, not powder coat.
Landy wise is a disco 3 (so im on Disko 3.co.uk quite a bit)whos main duties are shuttling and road/ski trips, we had a cooper S for city duty which we sold this summer to get a 2012 GTI which I am more than happy with.
Bike wise yep still getting out as much as i can although i have moved more towards to gravity side of things. I now mainly shuttle / bike park with a Yeti 303 25th WC, Intense Slopestyle and a Cotic Be Fe for XC and cyclocross duties. Riding out here is amazing and the skill level of the average Joe is pretty high compared to the UK.
We have another 2 years on the contract out here so plenty more riding and skiing to do……
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